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Hello, welcome to the mini-story lesson for the conversation titled “Earthquakes.” Let’s get started with the
story.
* * * * *
Luke can eat fifty eggs in one hour. Luke told his friend George. George thought this seemed
far-fetched. He thought that Luke was pulling his leg.
So Luke bet George $100 that he can eat fifty eggs in one hour.
Luke ate fifteen eggs in the first ten minutes then all of a sudden the ground started to shake. There
was an earthquake due east of San Francisco. Luke was not surprised because earthquakes are a
dime a dozen in San Francisco.
“When you live in San Francisco, it’s a given that you will feel an earthquake,” said Luke.
Then Luke ate the rest of the eggs in twenty-two minutes so George had to give him $100.
* * * * *
Okay, so that’s our story. Now I will start at the beginning of the story and as I read the story I will ask
questions and as always, please answer the questions out loud. If you need a little more time then you can
pause your iPod or your mp3 player and take as much time as you need to answer the questions. Of course,
if you just feel like listening to the questions and not answering them, that’s fine as well.
* * * * *
Yes, he can. I mean that sounds like a lot of eggs but he can do it. He can eat fifty eggs in one hour.
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Earthquakes Mini-Story Lesson
Can Luke eat fifty eggs in one hour or read a book in one week?
What can Luke eat in one hour? Can he eat fifty eggs or two pieces of bread?
Well, he can eat fifty. He can eat fifty eggs in one hour.
Well, it takes him one hour. He can eat fifty eggs in one hour.
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Earthquakes Mini-Story Lesson
Who told his friend George? Did Luke’s brother Stanley tell George?
What did Luke tell George? Did he tell him the score of the football game?
Did he tell him that he can eat fifty eggs in one hour?
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Earthquakes Mini-Story Lesson
Did Luke tell George that he can eat fifty eggs in one hour?
What did George think? Did he think that it was going to rain?
No, he didn’t think that it seemed believable. Far-fetched does not mean believable.
Yes, yes, he did. George thought that this seemed far-fetched, which is the same thing as saying that he
thought that it seemed unbelievable.
What did George think was far-fetched? Did he think that Luke being able to eat fifty eggs in one hour was
far-fetched?
Yes, yes, that’s correct. That’s what he thought was far-fetched or unbelievable.
Did George think that Luke could eat fifty eggs in one hour?
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Earthquakes Mini-Story Lesson
Who thought that it seemed far-fetched? Did Luke think that it seemed far-fetched?
Yes, he did. He thought it seemed far-fetched or he thought it seemed unbelievable. Far-fetched means
unbelievable.
Pulling his leg, he thought that Luke was pulling his leg.
Did he think that Luke was pulling his leg or biting his hand?
Pulling his leg, he thought that Luke was pulling his leg.
Did he think that Luke was making a joke by lying to him and pretending that the lie was true?
Yes, yes, he did. When someone is said to be pulling your leg, that person is making a joke by lying to you
and pretending that the lie was true. So that’s what he thought Luke was doing.
Who thought that Luke was pulling his leg? Did George or Leo think that Luke was pulling his leg?
Who did he think was pulling his leg? Did he think that Luke’s mother was pulling his leg?
Did George think that Luke was making a joke by lying to him and pretending that the lie was true?
Yes, he did. He thought that Luke was making a joke by lying to him and pretending that the lie was true,
which is the same as saying he thought that Luke was pulling his leg.
Yes, yes, that’s exactly what he said. He said to Luke “You’ve gotta be kidding.”
Yes, yes, he did. He said, “You’ve gotta be kidding,” which is the same thing as saying you cannot be
serious.
Who told Luke he’s gotta be kidding? Did Stanley tell him?
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Yes, he did. Remember you’ve got to be kidding is the same thing as saying you can’t be serious.
Well, he does not think that George can eat fifty eggs in one hour.
Does George think that Luke can eat fifty eggs in one hour?
No, no, he doesn’t. He said to him “You’ve gotta be kidding,” which means he did not think that what Luke
said was true. And Luke had told him that he can eat fifty eggs in one hour. And then that’s when George
said, “You’ve gotta be kidding.”
So Luke bet George $100 that he can eat fifty eggs in one hour.
Did Luke bet George $100 that he can eat fifty eggs in one hour?
Yes, he did. Luke bet George $100 that he can eat fifty eggs in one hour.
Well, he bet George $100 that he can eat fifty eggs in one hour.
What did Luke bet George? Did he bet him that he can bake a cake?
Did Luke bet him that he can eat fifty eggs in one hour?
Yes, he did. That’s what he bet him. He bet him that he can eat fifty eggs in one hour.
How many eggs does Luke have to eat to win the bet? Does he have to eat fifty eggs or one hundred eggs?
Fifty eggs, he has to eat fifty eggs in order to win the bet.
How much time does Luke have to eat the fifty eggs? Does he have one hour or one day to eat the eggs?
If Luke eats twenty eggs in one hour, does he win the bet?
No, he doesn’t. He has to eat fifty eggs in one hour in order to win the bet.
If Luke eats twenty eggs in one hour, does George win the bet?
Yes, he does. If Luke eats twenty eggs in one hour, that means that Luke loses the bet and George wins the
bet.
Luke did. Luke ate fifteen eggs in the first ten minutes.
Did George or Luke eat fifteen eggs in the first ten minutes?
Luke did. Luke ate fifteen eggs in the first ten minutes.
Did Will Smith eat fifteen eggs in the first ten minutes?
Yes, that’s correct. Luke ate fifteen eggs in the first ten minutes.
How much time did it take Luke to eat fifteen eggs? Did it take him thirty minutes?
Yes, that’s correct. It took him ten minutes. Luke ate fifteen eggs in the first ten minutes.
What happened?
Yes, yes, it did. It started to shake all of a sudden, which is the same as saying it started to shake right away
and without any warning.
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Earthquakes Mini-Story Lesson
Yes, there was. There was an earthquake due east of San Francisco.
Due east of San Francisco, the earthquake was due east of San Francisco.
Well, yes, yes, it was. It was due east of San Francisco which is the same thing as saying it was east of San
Francisco.
Yes, there was. There was an earthquake due east of San Francisco.
What was Luke not surprised about? Was he not surprised that gas prices increased?
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Earthquakes Mini-Story Lesson
Yes, that’s correct. He was not surprised. He was not surprised that there was an earthquake.
Okay, so what are a dime a dozen in San Francisco? Are red cars or earthquakes a dime a dozen in San
Francisco?
Yes, that’s correct. Earthquakes are a dime a dozen in San Francisco, which is the same thing as saying
earthquakes are very common in San Francisco. A dime a dozen means very common.
Why was Luke not surprised? Was he not surprised because earthquakes are a dime a dozen in San
Francisco?
Yes, yes, that’s true. He was not surprised because earthquakes are a dime a dozen in San Francisco.
Was Luke not surprised because earthquakes are very common in San Francisco?
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Earthquakes Mini-Story Lesson
Yes, that’s true, that’s why. Luke knew that earthquakes are a dime a dozen in San Francisco so he wasn’t
surprised when he felt an earthquake, because he knows earthquakes are a dime a dozen or that
earthquakes are very common in San Francisco.
“When you live in San Francisco, it’s a given that you will feel an earthquake,” said Luke.
Is it a given that you will feel an earthquake when you live in San Francisco?
Is it doubtful that you will feel an earthquake when you live in San Francisco?
No, it’s not doubtful, it’s a given and when something is a given that means that there is no doubt about it.
Is there any doubt that you will feel an earthquake when you live in San Francisco?
No, there isn’t. There is no doubt, it’s a given. It’s a given means that there is no doubt.
Is it a given that you will feel an earthquake if you live in New York?
Is it a given that you will feel an earthquake if you live in San Francisco?
Yes, that’s correct. It’s a given that you will feel an earthquake when you live in San Francisco.
What is a given when you live in San Francisco? Is seeing a red car or feeling an earthquake a given when
you live in San Francisco?
Well, feeling an earthquake is. It’s a given that you will feel an earthquake when you live in San Francisco.
Does Luke believe that you will feel an earthquake if you live in San Francisco?
Yes, he does. He said it’s a given that you will feel an earthquake.
Does Luke have any doubt that you will feel an earthquake when you live in San Francisco?
No, he has no doubt. He says it’s a given that you will feel an earthquake.
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Yes, yes, he does. George said, “Totally,” which means definitely, so he was agreeing with what Luke said.
Yes, he did. He said, “Totally,” which means definitely, I definitely think what you said is true is what he
meant.
Does George think that it is a given that you will feel an earthquake when you live in San Francisco?
Yes, yes, he did. He definitely agrees with Luke and Luke said that it’s a given that you will feel an
earthquake when you live in San Francisco so that means George also thinks that.
Yes, he did, that’s what he did. Luke ate the rest of the eggs in twenty-two minutes.
Did Luke eat the rest of the eggs or watch the football game?
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How much time did it take Luke to eat the rest of the eggs?
Twenty-two minutes. Luke ate the rest of the eggs in twenty-two minutes.
Twenty-two minutes. It took him twenty-two minutes to eat the rest of the eggs.
No, he didn’t have to give him $100. George had to give Luke $100.
Well, he had to give him $100 because Luke ate all fifty of the eggs in less than one hour.
Yes, yes, he did. George lost the bet because Luke ate all fifty of the eggs in less than one hour.
Yes, he did. Luke won the bet because he ate all fifty eggs in less than one hour.
* * * * *
Okay, that brings us to the end of our story which means we have come to the end of the mini-story lesson for
the conversation “Earthquakes.” Now it’s your turn to tell the story by yourself. Remember you do not have
to memorize every word in the story but you should use the idioms that we went over. The idioms that we
used were “far-fetched,” “pulling his leg,” “you’ve got to be kidding,” “all of a sudden,” “due east,” “a dime a
dozen,” “it’s a given,” and “totally.” Okay, so now tell the story on your own and remember, if you need to
listen to this lesson more times, you can do that.
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